


And So It Goes...

by ThisMasterpieceIsOnlyMine



Series: And So It Goes [2]
Category: American Horror Story: Apocalypse, American Horror Story: Coven
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Chapter two is alllllll fluff, F/F, Shit Hits The Fan, everything is okay though, theres a lot of yelling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-03-31
Packaged: 2019-12-27 01:23:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18293999
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ThisMasterpieceIsOnlyMine/pseuds/ThisMasterpieceIsOnlyMine
Summary: Almost a year after her life is turned upside down, Cordelia finds herself face to face with a former flame.





	1. Chapter One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a note that this part of the series was originally written and meant to go first, hence the references to their backstory that was already laid out in part one, but I thought it still lent itself to the story so it stayed in the final draft!

"I knew you for such a short time, and I've missed you forever." Cordelia wanted to say.  
  
She wanted to sit at the dark mahogany bar, in that empty seat in front of where the curly haired bartender stood scrubbing down the surface in a lull between groups of customers, but she just couldn't. Her feet wouldn't allow her to move, her lips not allowing her to speak.  
  
Cordelia hadn't seen Misty Day for what seemed like a lifetime, even though it had only been less than eight months since she had last held the beautiful young woman in her arms; And now, suddenly, when Cordelia had finally escaped the academy after a particularly stressful week of work and endless interviews with new applicants to the school, finding herself mysteriously attracted to this dark, hazy jazz club downtown she had never set foot in before, she was just feet across the room from her former flame.  
  
She had been Cordelia's other half, her lover and her best friend all rolled into one from the very night she had arrived on the steps of the academy. Not much older than the most senior of her students, she had shown up in the middle of the night, soaked from a rainstorm and seeking shelter from an abusive former lover. The two women had clicked instantly, Misty only feeling safe to fall asleep at night in Cordelia's arms, and Cordelia feeling the most understood in her most vulnerable states by the mysterious and tortured Misty. But Cordelia had pushed too far one night six months into what they had, pushed Misty too soon and in the blink of an eye she had lost her, waking up the next morning to an empty bed and every trace of her beautiful presence erased from the academy grounds.  
  
Dragging herself back out of her melancholic nostalgia, Cordelia looked up again just in time to see Misty move back from the table ever so slightly to hang the rag she had been using to clean on a hook next to the endless shelves of liquor, her face just barely turning towards the door. Cordelia stepped back and climbed two small steps at the movement, her back hitting an overloaded coat closet to conceal herself from view.  
  
Cordelia may have been fully concealed from Misty now, but in contrast her change in perspective to the bar gave her an even _better_ view of her former lover, now head to toe in Cordelia's line of sight. A small gasp left her lips then, having to reach back into the rail of winter coats and grip them tightly to keep herself upright.  
  
"You alright, girl? Need someone to call you a ride?" A beautiful man in eyeliner and a half buttoned-up white shirt nudged past her, emerging down the stairs in the narrow hallway off the entrance of the bar. Cordelia barely registered his voice, her ears ringing and all voices and the music sounding as though she was drowning underwater.  
  
"N-no, it's okay... Just got here, and sober. Must just be getting sick or something... Th-thank you, though." She tried to smile at the man, knowing it was coming off as forced and awkward.  
  
"Alright, sweetie. If you need someone to get you a pickup later on, my name's John Henry, just ask for me and somebody'll come get me. Or you just go on up to Misty, that's the bartender over there, the cute looking pregnant one? She..."  
  
Cordelia couldn't hear the rest of John Henry's words, the rest of the world falling away as her eyes fell on and stared intensely at Misty's upper half, tears pricking her eyes as the word circled around her brain and taunted her.  
  
_Pregnant. Misty is **pregnant**_.  
  
Cordelia couldn't help but let her eyes crawl with dread over Misty's now very round, very protruding stomach, unable to stop herself from thinking about just how precious she looked carrying that little life between her hips as she watched her for a few moments. She stopped every few moments as she poured and mixed drinks for the next few patrons to circle a palm over the centre of the bulge, or paused and smiled downwards as she moved a hand along various places over it, feeling the baby kicking her.  
  
_She's pretty far along._  
  
"Sure, okay... Thank you, Jim..." Cordelia tried, forcing her voice not to crack while she thanked the man for his kindness.  
  
"Um. John Henry. You take care of yourself, okay?" He bid her goodbye with a sympathetic smile, not knowing what exactly was happening behind those brown eyes, but catching on that there was some sort of heartbreak there, and that it _definitely_ involved Misty. Cordelia stood in the darkness of the coat closet for a few more moments with her eyes closed, trying to pull herself together.  
  
_You were a phase!_ Her anxiety screamed at her, _She never loved you. You knew she was straight when you met, you stupid girl. You fell so easily, no wonder it pushed her to leave you without saying goodbye! She never cared about you like that, she just wanted to be touched, and only stayed long enough to feel comfortable finding another man to love._  
  
She tried to shut the voices up, but no matter what Cordelia did they kept yelling at her, yelling over her swirling thoughts and making her believe that losing Misty was all her fault, that she'd seen things that were never there to begin with.  
  
When they tried to make her hate Misty for using her, though, that was when her brain finally went into lockdown, shutting out the intrusive statements along with any other normal, more rational thoughts.  
  
She couldn't leave. She couldn't turn around and exit the club without at least giving her a greeting or a word for her new blessing. She had to say _something_ to the curious girl who had stolen her heart in those six months, and the ones that followed after she had disappeared.  
  
Suddenly, as if taken over by some supernatural force making her legs move for her, Cordelia found herself sitting on a barstool as Misty cleaned some more countertops behind the bar, turned almost back on to her former flame, but still within earshot.  
  
"Congratulations," She said bleakly, her voice cold and the word strained with cracks under the weight of her heartache, "On your baby." She added, knowing that Misty would have learned to tune out drunken ramblings of patrons by now, unless directly addressed.  
  
"Oh, thank ya---" Misty turned with a smile to look up at the person who had just wished her well, the words catching in her throat and the empty tequila bottle she was holding crashing to the ground when she saw the all too familiar face smiling bitterly back at her, " _Delia_?! I..."  
  
"Don't. Don't fucking say anything." The broken woman quickly cut her off, "I don't want any half assed excuses, Misty. I just... God, I don't _know_. I don't _fucking_ know what to say to you right now after what you did! You _destroyed_ me... Manipulated me for _months_... And now look at you. As if I never even existed... As if you didn't even miss me and like what we had was never anything special to you at all... You know it was. You know what we had wasn't just a rebound, you _know_ that I wasn't just a friend helping you get through your trauma. It was so much more than that... I know you couldn't say it at the time but I know you loved me, Misty! I _know_ you loved me like I loved you! But you just had to leave without saying goodbye, had to leave me to suffer and wonder what I did to fuck us up so badly while you just went and got yourself knocked up---"  
  
"Cordelia." Misty hissed as the band onstage finished their last song before going to their intermission, the whole now-silent bar turning to stare at the arguing ex-somethings, and she had tears pouring down her face. "Just... Just come with me, please? Out back. Let me... Let me try to explain all this. I know... I know ya don't wanna hear excuses, but they won't be excuses. I promise, Delia... _Please_. I know you hate me but you deserve the truth, you deserved the truth months ago." She was pleading now, reaching for Cordelia's hands on the bar before she snatched them back, crossing her arms as Misty interlocked her own hands, wringing them anxiously.  
  
"I..." Cordelia was about to decline, to get up and walk out and leave Misty as destroyed as she'd been when she had left her, but she couldn't. Not when those sweet, big blue eyes had pooled with more tears and were begging her for just one more chance to make things right.  
  
"Fine." She huffed, standing from her stool and, following a gesture from Misty, moved around to the back of the bar, "Five minutes. You get five minutes."  
  
She followed her through a back door then, past a kitchen, a storage room, and another coat closet before Misty paused to grab a cape-style jacket from a hanger, wrapping it tightly around herself before they stepped out into the late autumn night.  
  
"D'you... D'you want a jacket? You can borrow John Henry's---" She tried shyly, hardly able to meet Cordelia's eyes.  
  
"No. I'm fine, thanks." She nearly spat, still staring cold-eyed at her former lover.  
  
"O-okay..." Misty nodded frantically, her voice broken as they stepped out into the night, nothing but darkness surrounding them in the alley.  
  
"Hi..." She said softly, looking up through her eyelashes from her shamefully bent head, still clearly petrified of the anger Cordelia had displayed inside the bar now that they were all alone.  
  
"Hi." Cordelia responded, frozen. "Well? I mean it, Misty. You hardly deserve five minutes of my time. Stop stalling and convince me you deserve my sympathy for breaking my heart."  
  
Misty audibly whimpered at the woman's icy tone, biting down harshly on her bottom lip to keep from fully sobbing before she'd even started speaking and positioning her gaze towards the top of the building behind Cordelia.  
  
"Okay, okay... I'm sorry. I just... I just wasn't expectin' to see you... wasn't expectin' all of that in there. I'm just tryin' to get my thoughts together! For fuck's sake, I'm sorry! Delia, I'm _so_ sorry for the way I treated you, the way things ended. You never deserved to be treated like that, and I'll spend the rest of my life apologizin' for the horrible way I hurt you... for abandoning you. I thought... I thought you got it, got what I had been through. You were always so much more grown than me, more mature an' knew what you wanted outta life, you were teachin' me how to get through what he did to me, taught me about real life beyond being abused... And I _trusted_ you, Delia..." Misty was sobbing now, a hand clutching her belly and the other flying to cover her mouth and muffle the sounds that had begun to leave it.  
  
"Get to the _point_!" Cordelia roared, her hands flying up to run through her hair in an exasperated movement. "Don't you _dare_ try to pin this on me, don't you dare try to tell me I was delusional and I broke my own heart! _You_ are the one who started all of this and wanted to fuck me every night, and told me all those sweet things; _You_ are the one who slept in my bed, naked and on top of me every goddamn night, and told me _everything_ except 'I love you' up until the night you left! You were my _girlfriend_ , for Christ's sake! We never said that out loud, but you know it as well as I do that everything we did, it was so much more than fucking around every night. You did _SO_ much more than hurt me, you led me on for _months_! What does _any_ of this have to do with 'trusting me'?! I _did_ get it Misty, you know I did after what I told you happened with my deadbeat ex-husband! I understood everything I could, because you know I've been where you had! The only thing I _don't_ understand is why the _hell_ you would do this to me, and why I wasn't enough for you, and why on _earth_ you would run straight into the bed of some man _right_ after you left me and get yourself pregnant!"  
  
" _SHE WAS AN ACCIDENT!_ " Misty screamed back, her throat feeling like it was tearing in half at the intensity at which the words left her. "The baby. My daughter. She was an accident. I didn't leave my life with you at the academy to fuckin' go _looking_ to be a bartendin', broke, single mother to be, you _selfish bitch_! You didn't let me finish! What I was _trying_ to say was that I trusted you, and I never _stopped_ trusting you, and I was terrified of that! You were the only person I felt safe with, the only person who had ever in my life made me feel like I belonged somewhere, and it scared the everlovin' Jesus out of me that I depended on you so much! Did you ever stop to think about _any_ other reasons as to why I had to leave, or did your thought process just stop at me not thinkin' you were good enough and 'comin' to my senses' or whatever? Cause you were _perfect_ , Delia... you were everything I coulda ever wanted in a lover, in the person I woulda wanted to spend my life with. Except you were a woman."  
  
Cordelia only looked back at her ex-lover, blinking a few times in confusion.  
  
"You knew I grew up in that religious community outside Lafayette, and escaped when I was seventeen. You knew I was raised disgustin'ly Christian. An' that included... that included thinkin' gays were sick... perverted... all that shit. I mostly grew out of it, when it came to meetin' other gay people and being their friend and accepting _them_ , but... When I realized how hard we were fallin' for each other, and how much I really depended on your love and bein' with you... I couldn't stay. I just _couldn't_ face that, Delia. I tried not to care, really I did. I tried to forget all of those things the preacher and my daddy always said. I was so scared because my mama always told me gays deserved to die, that they would always get what was comin' to them for disobeyin' the Lord's word... I couldn't bear for anythin' to happen to us if somebody from back home found out about us... I couldn't handle anythin' bad happening to _you_ if I admitted that I loved ya. I needed... I needed time and space to think and I _couldn't_ be gay, I couldn't in love with a woman... I couldn't be in love with the perfect, beautiful, kind, loving, powerful woman that is Cordelia Goode.  
  
So I did what I do best when I get scared, and I ran as far as I could, as fast as I could. I'm s-so sorry I ran, Delia... I'm so, so so so sorry. After I did... I was in so much pain and I finally decided I needed to feel something. I found myself at this same bar one night of many, and I was drunk and numb... He started a conversation, we got along really well. And he seemed nice, I could read him perfectly... He didn't have any bad intentions, and he was honest with me about what he was lookin' for that night. I told him that I had just been through a heartbreak, and I just wanted to feel good an' normal again, so we went back to a hotel room and messed around like kids... We fucked that night."  
  
Cordelia winced at the vulgar wording, nodding for her to continue.  
  
"I wasn't payin' attention, or I was too drunk or somethin' happened to the... And by the end of the month I could hardly leave my bed, I was so sick. I was pregnant. I never got to tell him, I never even knew his _name_ before he left in the morning. I... I can't do this alone, Delia. _Please_ , I need... I need my best friend. I'm _scared_."  
  
Cordelia's heart broke all over again at the younger woman's admissions, the ice slowly melting off of it at her ex-lover's pain and confusion. She still stood motionless though, unsure if she was ready to forgive or rekindle her relationship with Misty.  
  
"Delia, please say somethin'... I don't care if it's that ya hate me and never want to see my face again... Call me a dirty whore, _anythin_ '... You're scarin' me just standin' there starin' like that..." Misty stepped away fearfully then, turning her face away from Cordelia and winding her arms in front of her bump, shielding it. She was waiting for a blow.  
  
"Jesus Christ, I'm not going to _hit_ you, Misty!" Cordelia exclaimed in horror as she watched the actions unfold before her. "I can't believe that you would think... After everything we went through, the way we were with each other that you would even entertain the idea for a _second_ that I would even _think_ about hurting you, or hurting your baby. I would never, ever lay my hands on a woman, much less a _pregnant_ woman... Not after what Hank did to me, and especially not after what happened to you. I... I really don't know what to say to you right now. All of it makes more sense, it does. But you knew you could come to me with _anything_ , absolutely anything in the world you could have talked to me about."  
  
She stepped forward slowly then, laying a gentle hand on Misty's arm. She winced at the contact at first, before settling under the soft touch she always remembered so vividly on every lonely night since leaving the academy, almost silent sobs tumbling from her lips at Cordelia's reassurances.  
  
"If you had told me about your parents, the way the community raised you and that you were scared of falling for me... If you had stopped me the night I told you I loved you to explain all this, instead of running away from me in the middle of the night? I wouldn't have been angry, Misty. I would have stopped saying it until you were ready to say it first. I promise you I would have tried to help, to understand. I would have held you if you cried, I would have told you in every other way I could that I loved you without saying the words, so you knew that I still cared for you and wasn't upset. But you just disappeared without even so much as a goodbye, and I thought for so long that it had been all my fault, that I was too much too fast or too overbearing... I thought I had hurt you the way that man had hurt you, or that I was crazy and you'd only wanted sex to feel good again, and my admissions drove you away... I thought I got attached too quickly and I was seeing things that weren't there... I thought I imagined what we were. I didn't... Right? I didn't just imagine all the love we shared?"  
  
"You think... You thought you were hurtin' me? Delia, no..." Misty sighed, stepping closer bravely and gathering Cordelia in her arms, "You coulda never even come close to the kinda pain I've felt before even if you _tried_ to hurt me. You were always my safe place, my person... You _saved my life_ that night you let me into your academy, Cordelia. You didn't imagine it, I felt it too... God did I ever. I know, I know now I should have come to you... But I got so used to runnin' when I got scared. The ones before you got used to me runnin' too, it's just what I did. I'm so sorry, Delia... I never meant to stay away long, I thought I would come back someday a few weeks after I cooled off and try to work things out, but then Rhiannon happened and I couldn't come back to you like that, I didn't want you to feel like I was only using you for money or a place to stay after gettin' pregnant by someone else..."  
  
After that Misty couldn't take anymore, crumbling into Cordelia and sobbing into her shoulder, letting months of pain and suffering out in her cries. Cordelia stood frozen for a moment, her body unsure of what to do before she finally wrapped her arms around her, being careful to maneuver their position just right when she hugged her tight, avoiding any pressure on her precious rounded belly.  
  
"You're so careful." Misty smiled through a sniffle when they finally pulled back, "You're sweet. I missed this so much, y'know... Missed you every single day. Thank you, for hearin' me out. I know I don't deserve your forgiveness, but at least you know the truth now."  
  
"I do forgive you, Misty." Cordelia whispered in her ear, "And I never, ever stopped caring about or thinking about you."  
  
"I love you too, Cordelia." Misty whispered back with a smile, causing Cordelia's heart to feel like it had stopped completely.  
  
_Did she really just say that?_  
  
Misty continued then, seeing the look of confusion flickering on Cordelia's face,  
  
"I know now those sweet things you'd say an' all the times you'd check on me or do somethin' sweet while I recovered were your way of tellin' me you loved me without sayin' the words. And I... I know I fucked up so bad an' you could never possibly want me back, not almost seven months pregnant with a daughter that ain't yours... But I finally realized I just don't give a damn what happens to me if some homophobic idiot wants to hunt me down and try to kill me for bein' who I am, cause I was made this way for a reason and you deserve to know that I love you too. I always did."  
  
Misty pulled back ever so slightly at that, finally making and holding tearful eye contact with her former lover for just a moment so Cordelia knew how much she meant the words, before something made her stop and bring one arm from back around her, resting it on her stomach.  
  
"Oof... she's kickin' up a storm in there, Delia. Take it easy, little bird! It's okay, mama's here, mama's listenin'. Delia, w-would you... Would ya like to feel? It's okay, nothin'll happen to her." Misty encouraged gently, sensing Cordelia's curiosity. Cordelia only looked back at her fearfully; They had always been open about her struggles with infertility, being the biggest reason behind her ex-husband's abuse and drinking problem, and the subsequent jealousy and almost fear she felt around women who were pregnant.  
  
"I know ya wanna feel, sweetheart. I can see it in your eyes. Those pretty eyes..." Misty murmured sweetly, bringing her other arm back from around Cordelia and gently resting a hand on her now-flushed cheek, wiping away tears that had fallen in silence since their argument had dissipated.  
  
"You're so beautiful, Cordelia. So fuckin' beautiful an' amazin'... An' you've always been gentle as a baby deer. Baby's only as big as a pumpkin, least that's what the doctor said last week, but she's a tough girl. I promise nothin' you could do would ever hurt her." Misty swore, her thumb continuing its comforting, slow circles along her cheek.  
  
"O-okay..." Cordelia finally agreed, her breath catching in her throat when Misty took her hand and led it to her belly, right where the baby had just kicked her. It took several moments before anything else happened, and Cordelia worried she really _had_ messed up when she felt a quick, dull contact with her palm, nearly making her jump out of her skin.  
  
"Oh! Was... Was that...? That's it? When you react, it always looks like it hurts more... Does it hurt more from the inside?" She questioned softly, feeling childish as the curiosities rolled off her tongue.  
  
"Nah," Misty grinned, immediately reaching down and taking Cordelia's hand back into both her own before she could pull away forever, "Feels 'bout the same as on the outside, maybe just a lil... Sharper? I don't really know, nobody's ever really asked me to describe it before! She just takes me by surprise is all! The surprise is what gets me. I kinda really like the feelin', even when she keeps me up at night. I've been on my own so long that it's nice to have a reminder there's a real little person in there. She's a real night owl already, I can't imagine what it's gonna be like when she's actually here... She's gonna have the gators and the foxes driven crazy!" Misty laughed then, and Cordelia couldn't help but smile and join in, her first real laugh in months.  
  
Then Misty's sentence dawned on her slowly. "The... Misty? What do you mean, 'the gators and the foxes'? You're not..."  
  
Misty only sighed, squeezing her ex-love's hand tightly. "'Member how I told you I had a place at the edge of the swamps before everythin'? My cottage? I've been livin' there again ever since, just me an' Rhiannon and the animals. It's nice, peaceful..."  
  
Cordelia shook her head then, reaching in bravely to stroke a hand over the precious round belly in front of her as the other squeezed Misty's back. There was no way she was letting Misty give birth to and raise her baby so near to a dangerous, wild animal filled swamp.  
  
"No way, Misty. No way are you staying out there all alone with all those _things_ around... Not while she's a newborn. I know you used to tell me you and the animals had an understanding, but that's no place to raise a newborn baby all on your own! Or... And were you planning to... I know you always said you hated hospitals. You weren't going to give birth out there, were you?"  
  
She only nodded. "I have... I have a friend who's a midwife..."  
  
"Absolutely not! It's not safe, Misty! Those predatory animals, and such a little baby... They could sniff out the blood... There's so much that could happen, you're just asking for disaster! I won't allow it. You can move back in to the academy until she's older, we'll go and move all your baby things and whatever you need from the cottage to an empty room we have. We'll make it the best damn nursery I could possibly give you until she's old enough, and then you can move back out to the cottage again if you want. I won't force you to go to the hospital either, you can have her at the academy, I promise. I won't let you put yourself and your baby at risk like that."  
  
Cordelia didn't know where the rush of words had come from, or when she decided she had forgiven Misty enough to once again offer her a place to stay at the academy, but she knew she meant the words wholeheartedly, and didn't regret them once they were out.  
  
"I... What? Cordelia, no, I couldn't put ya out like that, not after all this. I promise it's safe out there, the cabin's built well, it's sound. We have good electricity and heat and everythin', locks on the doors and windows so nothin' can get in or out... I wouldn't want to torture ya with just the sight of me an' Rhiannon after everything you've gone through, everything _we_ been through... " Misty's words weren't meant to be malicious, she understood everything Cordelia had felt since she'd left.  
  
Cordelia only sighed, gently pulling her closer. "It wouldn't be torture to know that you and that sweet little baby would be safe and comfortable in my home. It's like I told you the night you showed up on my doorstep, helping you could never be a burden. You would never be putting me out, you've seen the size of that house! When all of the girls are gone for the holidays it gets kind of lonely... You were there last time, they leave for a month..."  
  
"I remember," Misty smiled gently at the memory, "Still have the sweater you gave me for Christmas. Nicest thing I ever owned. You never needed to do that for me, we barely knew each other then..."  
  
"I knew you enough to know that I loved you, and that you deserved the whole world." Cordelia smiled, finally pulling Misty into a real hug, guiding her to rest her head on her chest with a comforting hand tangled at the back of her curls.  
"You still do, your daughter too. I'm sorry for all this, Misty. I wasn't thinking, of course you had your valid reasons for why you thought to run away. I'm so sorry for the things I said, for embarrassing you in there in front of your coworkers and the whole bar. You didn't deserve that. I was just so _hurt_..."  
  
"Delia," Misty just smiled, taking her face in her hands and gently encouraging their eyes to meet, "It don't matter now, darlin'. None of that matters now, we figured it out! It's forgiven now. 'F you really mean it, if you really want us to live with you and you _promise_ havin' me an' my baby around won't hurt your sweet heart... I guess we could, 'til she's old enough for us to be livin' in the cabin again..."  
  
"I would love nothing more than knowing you both were safe and taken care of properly. For however long you want."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading and all of your sweet feedback on the series, I was super in my feelings when I originally wrote it so it means a lot that you're all enjoying it SO far! I promise chapter two is much fluffier and happy :)


	2. Chapter Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Misty's baby arriving brings much more to her rekindled friendship with Cordelia than either initially expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Of COURSE her name is Rhiannon Sara, because of course it is. 😅💛

Three months had passed since that fateful night, and Misty and her now one month old baby were settled comfortably in a room on the top floor of Robichaux Academy for the foreseeable future.  
  
Rhiannon Sara Day had been born late one early January night two weeks earlier than expected, and everyone from Cordelia to the students of Robichaux's to Cordelia's kooky aunt Myrtle were absolutely smitten with the angelic, tiny infant.  
  
Misty had been incredible the entirety of her labour, strong and brave through the immense waves of pain the natural birth had brought on her. Cordelia had stayed by her side and offered her hand for her to squeeze the entire time, though Misty insisted through pained sobs several times she didn't need to; She always worried about Cordelia and the things she felt when her internal battles with being unable to conceive were triggered.  
  
_"Misty, darling, I promise it's okay." Cordelia had sworn, tenderly stroking a cool washcloth across her naked back and her shining face as she moaned and sobbed in pain, her breathing steadying just long enough to tell Cordelia for the thousandth time since her water had broken that she didn't need to do this for her, that if it hurt her too much to watch that she could leave; that she was safe in the hands of Cordelia's aunt Myrtle and her midwife, and she could come back in after Rhiannon had arrived._  
  
_"I really am fine, Misty. I'm here for you and that little princess we get to meet very soon. I've told you for months I wanted to be here to help and I meant it, you just tell me what you need, okay? You're doing so good, sweetheart..."_  
  
Cordelia smiled at the memory as she graded the last of her classes' exam papers late that night, almost immediately turning into a yawn. Laying her pen down and sliding the finished papers into a folder on her desk, the headmistress looked to her phone to check the time.  
  
_2:53AM_  
  
"Shit..." Cordelia cursed herself for staying up so late, knowing in less than two hours Misty and Rhiannon would wake for the baby's first feeding of the day. As courteous and careful as Misty tried to be towards the headmistress every morning, she was inherently clumsy and various plates and pans, among other things, would come crashing to the floor at least once a morning and wake Cordelia in the early hours, descending to the kitchen with sleep still in her eyes to make sure neither of the two people she loved most in that house had been hurt.  
  
As she ascended the stairs to her top floor bedroom and crossed the hallway to her door, the tiniest, sweetest cry made her stop in her tracks. Rhiannon was the happiest, most easygoing baby Cordelia had ever encountered, sleeping through the night from the time she was a week old, so for the infant to be awake at this time of night and crying was out of the ordinary.  
  
For a moment Cordelia considered waking Misty to take care of her, as she was still and had always been nervous around the baby girl. But it had been a long week for the new young mother, a million firsts for both mother and baby taking their toll and wearing her out. On top of it all, Misty had started working a few nights a week again back at the jazz club to start saving more money, determined not to look like she was dependent on Cordelia or her free stay at the academy for long. So Cordelia took it upon herself to shut the door to the bedroom she and Misty shared once again all the way and slip quietly down the hallway to the nursery on her own for the very first time.  
  
Misty was more than okay with Cordelia being on her own with her goddaughter (an honor bestowed upon her three days into the infant's life, during an intimate late night conversation between them as they laid comfortably across from each other, legs tangled together on the day bed in the nursery while the baby slept), but Cordelia always preferred for somebody to be in the room when she spent time with her beautiful turquoise eyed godchild, still terrified that she wouldn't know how to help the tiny, fragile angel if something went wrong. But Misty had taught her all about how to hold, feed, and comfort the baby properly, and the hardworking young mother deserved the extra sleep even if Cordelia was still very much scared of hurting the precious little girl.  
  
As she entered the room and raised the dimmer switch on the lights so she wouldn't blind the poor baby, Cordelia was immediately rendered breathless as gigantic, innocent aqua eyes stared out from the crib at her, the baby's cries subsiding at the sight of her godmother.  
  
"Hey, little bird..." Cordelia cooed, borrowing the nickname Misty always used, that loosely referenced the Fleetwood Mac song her daughter had been named in honor of, "You okay? I heard you from all the way down the hall, sweet girl. Come here, let's let your mama rest a little while we get you some breakfast, hm?" She smiled down into the crib at the infant while taking in a massive breath, letting it out slowly to relax her nerves before she lifted the baby into her arms.  
  
"You got this, Cordelia..." The headmistress mumbled to mostly herself, but also in hopes the sound of her voice would keep the baby calm, "You're being ridiculous, you've held her a thousand times with Misty there, she trusts you. You're good at this... There we are, little one! Hi, precious girl..." She picked up the infant in one swift movement and rested the blanket swaddled baby against her chest before moving out of the room, unable to help her continued smile and the endless rain of kisses she placed on that little blonde head as the baby snuggled up to her and closed her eyes; Making no more noise than those small, typical baby sounds that always made Cordelia melt.  
  
"My god, you're just the cutest little thing aren't you! Yes, you are! Just the sweetest little baby I ever did see!" The headmistress doted endlessly over her goddaughter as she pulled a container of milk from the night before from the fridge and fixed her a bottle, gazing at the tiny baby adoringly from where she'd lain her in her favorite automated rocker that Cordelia had bought Misty for her baby shower. She had insisted that it was too fancy, too much money for Cordelia to have spent on her on top of housing mother and daughter for free (she had refused from day one to allow Misty to pay rent), _and_ throwing the entire baby shower herself. But Cordelia had kept the device in her bedroom closet until Rhiannon had arrived, and the baby had babbled and giggled happily from the second she had been laid in it for the first time.  
  
"There we are sweetheart, all done! Come here, precious girl, let's get you fed, shall we?"  
  
Cordelia walked them both to the rocking chair she had ordered for the parlor, sitting gingerly in the seat and propping her legs up on the ottoman while she shifted the baby gently in her arms. They stayed that way for what felt like hours, Rhiannon suckling gently on the bottle, with Cordelia gazing down at her beautiful goddaughter tearfully.  
  
"Beautiful Rhiannon... I just love you so much, beautiful girl. I didn't think I would ever get to know what it felt like to love a baby this much. I hope your mama doesn't want to take you away from here anytime soon, because I'd certainly miss you too much... You _and_ your mama. You're both so special to me..."  
  
Shortly after her quiet confession and she had burped the tiny baby, another round of sleepiness hit her, snuggling the infant close once again and reclining the rocker just slightly into a more comfortable sleeping position. Shifting just a little she laid Rhiannon carefully on her chest, both arms wrapped securely around the now-sleeping baby as Cordelia closed her eyes and fell asleep again.

* * *

  
Misty woke that morning to unusual silence, the room she shared with her former love empty as the wintery blue morning light shone into her eyes. She hadn't heard Rhiannon cry yet, she realized, and she had woken up with the sun instead of the little hungry sobs of her precious daughter.  
  
"Delia?" She called softly, rising from the bed slowly as fear crept up her spine, "Cordelia? Rhiannon? Where are y'all.." She tracked barefoot down the hall, finding Rhiannon's nursery empty too.  
  
Misty had a thought, but shook it from her mind as soon as it entered. It was impossible, Cordelia never took Rhiannon on her own. She was always petrified of hurting her goddaughter, afraid that she would make one wrong move that would affect the child for life. Misty had always insisted she would never, but still Cordelia made herself or Myrtle stay in the room any time she so much as _looked_ at the baby. She must have been with Myrtle for one of those morning strolls the elderly woman always liked to take around the academy grounds, and Cordelia probably had gone out early for coffee and to finish grading her papers for the girls' midterm exams.  
  
When Misty's stomach growled audibly she decided it was time to make herself breakfast, descending the stairs and slowly twirling into the parlor to the song in her head before she stopped, amazed at the sight before her. Rhiannon was babbling happily up at her godmother, while Cordelia slept peacefully and they snuggled underneath a blanket in the plush rocking chair in the corner of the room.  
  
_She took her all on her own. She was brave so I could sleep._ Misty smiled even wider at the thought, proud of her best friend for overcoming her fear for such sweet, selfless reasons. Tiptoeing silently over to the pair, Misty knelt in front of the rocking chair and placed one hand on her baby's cheek, leaving a gentle kiss on her daughter's forehead.  
  
"Good mornin', little bird..." She whispered sweetly. She stayed that way for a moment, in silence with the love of her life until she decided it was okay to wake Cordelia from her slumber; She was probably hungry too. She stood and moved just slightly around the recliner, bending down just enough so she was eye level with the headmistress and leaning in to brush a few strands of hair off of her face. Misty bent over and placed a soft, lingering kiss to her friend's forehead too, hoping it would wake her.  
  
"Deliaaa..." She singsonged softly, "Cordeliaaaa Gooooooode, you gotta wake up, darlin'... It's almost eight in the mornin' an' I can't remember if you like cream cheese or _actual_ cheese on your bagels! C'mon, rise 'n' shine pretty lady!" She smiled then, pressing another kiss to the woman's head as she stirred, gently unwinding her arms from around the baby and taking her back into her own, earning her a sleepy whine from the headmistress.  
  
"Nooooo, Mist... We were cozyyy!" It took her another few moments, but the older woman finally awoke then, pulling the blankets up around herself and her eyes widening as they opened to the sight of a pajama clad Misty holding her daughter close to her chest.  
  
And then she panicked.  
  
"Holy shit, did I drop her?! Oh my god, _shit_ , oh my god... I didn't... Did I? Is she okay? Is she hurt?! I'm so sorry, Misty, I didn't think I was gonna fall asleep with her---"  
  
Misty only giggled, earning her a furrowed brow in response. "No, darlin', you didn't do anythin' wrong! Shhh, shhh, it's okay..." She comforted, shifting the baby to lay against one shoulder to use her now free hand to rub soothing circles into Cordelia's shoulder with her thumb. "You did everything perfectly, Delia! She was right there in your arms all safe and warm when I came down here, she was just lookin' at me with such a sweet lil face an' I just had to pick her up! Look, she just adores you!" She grinned, gesturing at the way Rhiannon was reaching playfully for her godmother, babbling away happily. "'T was sweet of ya to let me sleep, I needed that. You're amazin'... I came down here and you both were sleepin' like rocks, I can never get her to fall asleep after breakfast like that! She loves her Delia, that's for sure..."  
  
She trailed off suddenly, her encouraging grin fading into something much more vacant and thoughtful.  
  
"What is it, Mist?" Cordelia asked gently, bringing a hand up to touch the porcelain cheek before her, "What's troubling you, darling?" Ever since Misty had moved back into the academy, and especially so since Rhiannon had been born the two women had gotten used to their old pet names again, comfortable with calling each other darling and sweetheart and everything else under the sun, knowing they were nothing more than platonic terms of endearment now.  
  
"Misty? Sweetheart, it's okay... You can tell me anything, remember? Anything at all." Cordelia was pleading now, laying Rhiannon in her rocker before following Misty into the kitchen and trying her best to ensnare her in her arms.   
  
Misty turned away from her former love then, attempting to conceal the tears that were now freely flowing down her cheeks as Cordelia wrapped her up in a tight, warm embrace from behind, resting her head sweetly on Misty's shoulder. "You can trust me, you know I'd never judge you." She murmured gently, trying to coax her into being honest.  
  
Misty only sighed, finally turning in Cordelia's arms and returning the hug she had given, wrapping her arms around her and resting her head on the other woman's shoulder, burying her face in those shiny blonde waves that were still perfect even first thing in the morning as she allowed a few soft sobs to escape.  
  
"It's just... It shoulda been you, Delia. I don't mean the one night stand part or anythin', but just... You were made to take care of people, take care of _kids_... You're so good with Rhiannon, and all the academy girls. You're basically their mama, especially to the girls like me who don't really have families who care about 'em, and just wanted 'em shipped off somewhere. You fought and fought and _tortured_ yourself tryin' to conceive with that awful man for _years_... An' I guess I just feel so guilty that the first thing that happened to me when I abandoned you, just like everybody else you trusted an' loved, was to go and get myself pregnant. The _one thing_ you prayed for every night. And I didn't even _want_... I was so ungrateful. And seein' you with her now... It shoulda been you, God shoulda gave her to you... You're so good at all this. You were far more ready, far more deserving... It's not _fair_... It ain't fair that you can't have babies of your own an' I'm here just... Just shoving my daughter in your face every damn day... I feel like _I'm_ the one torturing you now..."  
  
"Misty, no, please don't do that to yourself..." Cordelia begged, hugging her tighter to her chest, "Don't you dare say that. Remember what you said, that night in the alley? About yourself and the way that you love? You said you _knew_ God made you that way for a reason, and I agree with that for myself, too. It took me a long time to accept, many years... But God made me this way so I could have the academy and _fifty_ daughters, and my precious little goddaughter... You getting pregnant with her led us back here, Mist. Back to all the good we had before. If I had gotten what I wanted all those years ago, Misty, I never would have met you and gotten to have you in my life like this, and I don't want to think about what a life never knowing you would have looked like. Sweetheart even if you weren't ready, look how beautiful she is, and how happy you make her! How happy she makes _you_. You are the most incredible mother to that little angel, and for only twenty five? You're unbelievably strong for knowing exactly what you wanted, and exactly how you wanted to do it.  
  
I saw you that night in the bar, and every night since then and after she was born... You love her more than anything on this planet. As for me, I had to stand there at four in the morning and give myself a whole pep talk just to pick her up! But you made me brave, knowing how much you had to go through and how strong you had to be all on your own for those eight months gave me the bravery I needed. You are a _really_ good mother, Misty. You work so hard for her every damn night at the bar even though you _know_ you should be taking this time off just to rest, you hardly sleep and you're always making sure she's taken care of and loved in every way possible. I just wanted to do something nice for you, after all that you do for her... And for me. You didn't have to forgive me for being horrible to you that night, but you did... You have a heart of gold, and she'll inherit that from you. You were meant to be her mother, Misty Day. She's your daughter. So don't you ever say you wish she was someone else's, because you two were meant to be."  
  
"Thank ya, Dee..." Misty whispered through sniffles, "You're right, you're always right. I... Cordelia?"  
  
"Yes, darling?" Cordelia looked to the woman who had become her best friend and other half, perplexed. Misty never addressed her by her full name, unless she was teasing or they were arguing, and this didn't sound like either. Misty only averted her gaze at the eye contact, her pale face turning bright red.  
  
"I love you." She murmured, trembling in her other half's arms.  
  
Cordelia was confused, the fearful tone in which the younger woman spoke the words and the way she was shaking was unusual for the typically carefree, loving girl. Those three words had become normal between them now, in their comfortable and close kind of friendship they'd developed since reuniting. "I love you too, Mist! It's okay, I'm here---"  
  
"No, Delia..." Misty sighed, fear evident in her shaking voice. "I _love_ you. Like I did before... Like ya did me all that time ago. I'm _in_ love with you. I fell for you again Delia I'm so sorry I didn't mean to... I know you've been datin' again and I know we're so good where we're at, but you're so lovin' an' so kind an' so beautiful, an' you're so perfect with my daughter... An' I know even though we're just friends now an' I live here I still could never be yours again after what I did to ya an' I accept that... But I just had to tell you, Cordelia. I needed you to know how I feel about you before I absolutely _exploded_ keepin' it inside. I... I'm sorry..." She tried to catch her breath as all the words came out at once, her head spinning from the lack of oxygen and overwhelming fear she felt at Cordelia's silence.  
  
"Delia...?" She tried softly, her sweetly accented voice thick and quaking with unshed tears. "Please, I'm---" She didn't get to finish her sentence, and before Misty knew what was happening she was pressed up against the countertops, a warm, full, incredible pair of lips kissing her passionately. She froze for just a moment at the contact, before settling into the kiss and returning all of Cordelia's advances, her hands roaming and exploring every inch of the striking, unbelievable woman that held her close and shamelessly deepening their kisses.  
  
And just like that, it was over. Cordelia pulled away slowly, allowing Misty to catch her breath before hugging her close, pressing kisses all up and down the length of her neck and to that beautiful face she loved so dearly.  
  
"Wow..." Cordelia panted, still struggling to steady her own breathing.  
  
"You okay, Delia?" Misty smirked, leaning in to catch her lover's unbelievable mouth in hers once again.  
  
"Better than okay..." She grinned back, sighing softly into Misty's intoxicating lips, "That was... Wow. So you... We... Us? Do you...?" Cordelia had so many questions that she started them all at once and never finished any.  
  
Misty nodded, understanding the incomplete statements. "Yeah, I do. I wanna do this right this time though, right from the get go. So, Cordelia Goode, what d'you say to starting over and having a night to ourselves this weekend, and allowing me the absolute pleasure of buyin' you a nice, romantic dinner on Saturday night?"  
  
"I would love nothing more, Misty Day. So it's a date?"  
  
"It's a date."  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If anyone would like to see me continue this into the first date or beyond and you have any ideas of where you would like to see this go, or you'd like to see any "outtakes" I didn't include in either part of this story (ex: Misty asking Cordelia to be Rhiannon's godmother) please don't hesitate to let me know in the comments!
> 
> Thank you so much for reading, commenting, and supporting this story ♡


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